Evidently, spending too much time alone, under stimulated and without quality views is detrimental to one’s world-vision. Being myopic was not something I ever thought I would be, but I spent too long without a window. Now that I work beside a wall of glass, with a view of more trees than I can count, I realize the power of the view-both inside and outside. I find myself willing to let the sun partially blind me and turn my polarized glasses dark as I type away and otherwise occupy myself with meaningful tasks. I don’t want to close the blinds as it is more fun to pretend I am working at the beach. Birds sit on the limbs outside and visit with me as I adjust to a life that I almost missed. I need to make sure that I don’t miss seeing the forest for the trees as it would be easy to take the newly found vista at its surface. I occupy myself with real estate research, as there is where I find myself gainfully employed. Much of the perspective in research, I have found, is looking backwards. Funny that my calendar today says “Life must be lived forwards but can only be understood looking backwards”. Coincidences like that have been happening more and more. Some schools of thought say that is what happens when you align with your purpose. Maybe I should research that… It seems lately that we stand at the front door of change on so many fronts. A presidential election is now in the very foreseeable future, and while that may be quite macro it is impactful down to the micro in terms of so much, running the gamut from interest rates to the stock market to the prices in the grocery store. We are experiencing war in the world, and while that is nothing new, we have increasing amounts of turmoil and violence foreign and domestic as a part of every news cycle. Four years out now from the start of a worldwide pandemic, research is showing that we have not become kinder and gentler. Mayhem at home and abroad abounds in terms of literal hunger and failing health. People cannot contain themselves enough to be quiet and obedient for the duration of an airline flight. Our country and her states battle on the approaches toward immigration and family planning where no matter what is decided there will be no winners. Our local atmosphere, which is so often much quieter in the face of adversity than is found outside the imaginary mountains that create the ‘Susque’ valley, also has its share of discontent and adversity over who can read to kids at the library and what they can wear. Seemingly we too are not immune to the arguments about who is welcome and how to treat them as we cannot get a handle on our own homeless or feed all our own hungry (despite being the “Garden Spot of all the Earth”) or even to sufficiently and humanely imprison our criminals. On the evolutionary spectrum, more trips than ever before are planned to the moon and to mars to research life forms and colonization as if even the earth is not quite enough for us anymore. Telescopes send us increasingly vivid pictures of incomprehensible beauty in a far-off galaxy. Meanwhile people are being supplanted by AI and our response largely seems to be curiosity along with using it for entertainment and personal assistance. Does this concern me? Not really. People like me who like to write know that those who like to read are increasingly rare, and only a very few have even gotten this far in the article. That and I have social security to look forward to sustaining me though my golden years. Insert crying/laughing emoji here. But getting back to reality: most paramount to Brokers/Realtors is the seemingly seismic shift coming from the NAR settlement which at this writing is still to be determined. I for one remember when Buyer Agency was “invented” not long after I was first licensed and the general and most practiced structure of it made no sense to me then (or now). For the 20 years without a window where I worked, I gave every single person that I did business with a written explanation telling them in no uncertain terms that I represented the Landlord/Seller and that they should get representation (if they did not already have it) because I was not and would not be practicing Dual Agency. We offered to pay their representative agent and disclosed the offered fees to all and invited any negotiations about those terms to be done ASAP. By doing this all up-front we only ever had 1 single case in which a tenant rep tried to hold us up for more commission after interest was firmly established, but there is always one rotten apple in an orchard of prime fruit. Today is a bright sunny day and from my little room with the big, beautiful view the best answers are clear: 1) communication, 2) disclosure 3) sharing. In that order. There really is no news here. Commissions and fees were never pre-set. Everything is and always has been negotiable and if done correctly everyone should have already known how it was set up in each case anyway. By simply and routinely sharing the how much and the mechanism of who pays who and putting it all in writing, we can all get back to making dreams come true. Some of you may be thinking I’ve had too much sun, but I really believe this is this simple. In case you need a reminder to spend some quality time staring out at the landscape, skyscape or even hardscape, I implore you to do so in this waning winter of discontent. In so much as possible enjoy the amazing people around you, if you are as lucky as I am to have found some. Keep in touch with what it is that excites you. A good window looking out is not half as important as a good view looking in.  I am going to enjoy watching Spring come out in all her glory with buds, leaves and flowers surrounding the neighboring building with its pristine roof and its perfectly mounted HVAC units and then I’m going to watch it all bake in the summer sun while I sit inside in 100% reliably functioning air conditioning until the leaves turn beautiful colors and eventually obscure the perfectly symmetrical tar seams and eventually I’ll drink provided flavored coffee as I see it all get covered over by a blanket of fine white snow… while I’m in here warm and cozy… and onward like that through a few more seasons… and then the chatbots are welcome to all of it and I’m going to Saturn. Facts, opinions and information expressed in the Blog represent the work of the author and are believed to be accurate, but are not guaranteed. The Lancaster County Association of Realtors is not liable for any potential errors, omissions or outdated information. If errors are noted within a post, please notify the Association. Posts represent the author's opinion and are not necessarily the opinion of the Association.

Adhered Masonry Stone Veneer (also known as AMSV) is a product used on many newer (say, the past 30 years or so) homes in our area, although it is rarely properly installed. In this article, Matthew Steger goes over helpful tips and what to be on the lookout for when it comes to the practice.